A few years ago, Reuters News reported that a nationwide poll conducted of the Russian people found that former dictator Josef Stalin was voted the third most popular historical figure. Over one-third of the Russian population participated in the poll.

Can you imagine? Stalin just might be the greatest mass-murderer in human history. Estimates of the body count during Stalin’s reign of terror range anywhere from 20-60 million, and that doesn’t include the millions of people who were starved, imprisoned, and tortured but who didn’t die. Only China’s Mao Tse-tung rivals Stalin’s butchery. Then, again, many Chinese people still love Mao Tse-tung, too.

How is it that people can laud and honor tyrants and butchers? How can people so easily submit to slavery and despotism?

No tyrant rises to power calling himself a tyrant. Tyranny is never sold as tyranny. Every tyrannical regime of history considered itself to be patriotic and compassionate; and the people who supported and submitted to such regimes considered themselves to be patriotic and compassionate, as well. The police state is never called that by those who promote it; they call it “law and order,” “keeping the peace,” “protecting the homeland,” etc.

The president’s panel on NSA reform gives us the worst of both of these worlds

During the 1920s, the American government secretly funded the “black chamber” to crack codes used by foreign governments. Upon hearing of the program, President Hoover’s new Secretary of State Henry Stimson famously proclaimed, “Gentlemen don’t read other gentlemen’s mail”–and ended it. Stimson was not the only leader of his era determined to pretend the international arena was the domain of gentlemen: just one year earlier representatives from 62 nations (including the United States) signed the Kellogg-Briand pact, agreeing not use war to settle “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them.”

Seventy-five years later, the starry-eyed are still among us, albeit mugged by competing unrealities.

Edward Snowden and his sympathizers want to transcend the modern “Orwellian” nation-state and establish a hyper-individualistic new world order made up of billions of peaceful cosmopolitans. As Snowden put it in his Thoreau-like Christmas message: “Privacy matters. Privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be.” Christmas itself, of course, belies such a claim to radical autonomy. But leaving that aside, the most oppressive impositions on privacy do not come from government surveillance programs, at least as we’ve experienced them, but from enemies of peace, foreign and domestic–the very enemies such programs are meant to stop.

Are Americans ready to accept a police state? Are pastors and Christians ready to accept a police state? Are Republicans and conservatives ready to accept a police state? Are Democrats and liberals ready to accept a police state? Are there truly enough people left in this country who even understand what a police state is, and if they do, would they really support it?

I can hear many readers shouting, “No!” But I truly wonder just how many Americans have already accepted the police state in their hearts and minds. It is absolutely true that before despots and tyrants can put shackles around men’s necks, they must first put them around men’s hearts. So, just how many of the American people are walking around every day with shackles already around their hearts? How many pastors mount the pulpits with shackles around their hearts? How many teachers enter the classroom with shackles around their hearts? How many State lawmakers walk into their various capitols with shackles around their hearts? How many police officers get into their squad cars with shackles around their hearts? How many military personnel put on their uniforms with shackles around their hearts?

Those of us who are passionate about the freedom fight spend a lot of time discussing and debating the nuances of how best to protect liberty. Except for a precious few, our State governors, attorney generals, legislators, senators, mayors, county commissioners, city councilmen, etc., are doing a fantastically lousy job of honoring their oaths to the Constitution and to the principles contained in our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Except for a precious few, our pastors, deacons, elders, and church leaders are doing a fantastically lousy job of defending freedom principles. Except for a precious few, our civic and business leaders are doing a fantastically lousy job of defending liberty. And needless to say, you could put the people on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., who are even doing diddly-squat about preserving liberty into an old-fashioned phone booth.

Famed news man, Edward R. Murrow told us, “A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.” He knew well that this was true as he covered the World War II as well as the years leading up to the conflict and those following. His knowledge of people falling under the control of an all powerful government was more than theoretical as he saw the horror it produced.

When Robert Small stood up in the Peoples Republic of Maryland to question the implementation of Common Core standards in the local schools, he found himself being bullied out of the room and is now facing up to ten years in prison for having the temerity to question the wisdom of his betters at a forum held by the Maryland Department of Education. A vindictive administration is charging him with disturbing the functions of a school which carries thousands of dollars in fines, and assaulting a police officer which could land him in prison.

The tragedy at the Washington Navy Yard revealed one more failure on the part of those whose job it is to keep the American people safe. It is reported that Aaron Alexis had some pretty bizarre run ins with police and told his counselor that was hearing voices… voices that weren’t there. Those with the information claim to have passed it on to the Navy. Yet, he kept his security clearance and had unfettered access to the base. When we see so much bad news every day, it is beyond understanding that no one did anything about it.

If this were an isolated incident, we might just call it an unfortunate mistake and move on. However, if it is part of a pattern, we would have reason to wonder what it is that is causing multiple failures.

We saw intelligence from the Russians, and others, about the Tsarnaev brothers prior to the Boston Marathon bombing… yet nothing was done to intervene in their nefarious plans. Then we saw “soldier of Allah”, Nadal Hasan, coming to the attention of the Army several times, yet nothing was done to prevent the tragedy at Fort Hood. The Newtown killer was the object of concern, yet again, he was free to kill young children and their teachers.

The year 2013 is already an incredibly sad year for me–and it’s not even over yet. I can tell you for a fact that the melancholy side of my temperament is being sorely tested.

As the date of this column is so close to the infamous date of 9/11, I was going to write about the spiral into a police state that the would-be tyrants in Washington, D.C., are plunging us into. Of course, 9/11 is the excuse for every big-government abridgment of liberty that has taken place over the last 12 years. 9/11 was the justification for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan; it was the justification for passing the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the NDAA. 9/11 justifies the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA, and USNORTHCOM. 9/11 is the excuse given for launching deadly drone attacks against all kinds of people in Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, etc. And now, 9/11 is the excuse for a brand new military action against Syria.

Police can break down the door of your house without a warrant because of 9/11; police can set up checkpoints on America’s highways because of 9/11; you and I can be indefinitely incarcerated without being told why and without being allowed legal counsel because of 9/11; Americans can be sent off to prison–even foreign prisons–without benefit of a trial because of 9/11; American citizens can even be killed by government agents without being charged with a crime because of 9/11; entire cities (such as Boston) can be thrust into martial law because of 9/11. All of our electronic correspondence, phone calls, and financial activity can be monitored by the feds because of 9/11. The list is endless.

I recently read a column by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts that was so good I wish I had written it. First, a little bit about Roberts. This is from his official web site: “Dr. Roberts has held academic appointments at Virginia Tech, Tulane University, University of New Mexico, Stanford University where he was Senior Research Fellow in the Hoover Institution, George Mason University where he had a joint appointment as professor of economics and professor of business administration, and Georgetown University where he held the William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy in the Center for Strategic and International Studies.”

His bio continues: “Dr. Roberts was associate editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal and columnist for Business Week and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate in Los Angeles. In 1992 he received the Warren Brookes Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 1993 the Forbes Media Guide ranked him as one of the top seven journalists in the United States.”

And one more paragraph about Paul Craig Roberts: “President Reagan appointed Dr. Roberts Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and he was confirmed in office by the U.S. Senate. From 1975 to 1978, Dr. Roberts served on the congressional staff where he drafted the Kemp-Roth bill and played a leading role in developing bipartisan support for a supply-side economic policy. After leaving the Treasury, he served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce.”

Australian Christopher Lane had a great opportunity when he came to the US to study finance at Oklahoma East Central University and play baseball. Unfortunately, it all came to an end when three teenagers with nothing better to do, saw him jogging along a road in one of Duncan, OKs nicer neighborhoods. According to the local police, they drove up behind him and shot him in the back.

This is just beginning to make the news, which is mildly surprising as the victim was white and the teens were not. For those wishing to make a racial deal out of everything going on these days, the murder would be tailor made to open a discussion of such issues… but no one is talking, as happens so often in such situations.

It is tragedy for everyone involved. One young man is dead, three are facing life in prison. Each one with a distraught family. Whatever their dreams and ambitions were, they are nothing now by a distant memory. While there is a racial component, there is so much more.

[Editor's note: Some readers have reservations about the InfoWars program. They do have some interesting views, however, they are not alone in their evaluation. Breitbart and Reuters concur. It would behoove us to see what they have to say.]

Kit Daniels recently wrote a brief but very enlightening news story on InfoWars.com:

“On the August 6 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Dr. Ron Paul responded to this very straightforward statement which appeared in a recent New York Times article:

“‘Some analysts and Congressional officials suggested Friday that emphasizing a terrorist threat now was a good way to divert attention from the uproar over the N.S.A.’s data-collection programs, and that if it showed the intercepts had uncovered a possible plot, even better.’

“‘Well, it’s not amazing that this is the truth,’ Paul said in response. ‘It’s amazing, I think, that the New York Times would admit it.’

“Paul went on to say that the NSA’s claim of saving Americans from dozens of terrorist attacks is simply rhetoric to prove that the agency’s massive spying on Americans is a good thing.

“‘Their (the NSA officials) claimed successes are all built on lies,’ Paul said.

Paul referred to NSA Deputy Director John Inglis’ admission that the agency’s warrantless wiretapping only prevented maybe one terrorist plot and even that one is questionable, which contradicts the NSA’s earlier claim of 54 thwarted plots.

Holy Cow, Martha! Will miracles never cease? Chuck Baldwin and the New York Times editorial board actually agree. Are we in the Twilight Zone? Is it Freaky Friday? Is the Times editorial board reading my columns and seeing the light or am I watching CNN and MSNBC too much? I know I don’t watch those two propaganda outlets too much, and I doubt the Times editorial board pays too much attention to what I write, so what is going on?

On June 6, the editorial board of the New York Times posted a column that yours truly could have written. The column was entitled “President Obama’s Dragnet.” The editorial begins:

“Within hours of the disclosure that federal authorities routinely collect data on phone calls Americans make, regardless of whether they have any bearing on a counterterrorism investigation, the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered every time President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights.

What’s going on in Boston? What’s going on in our country? I make no pretense of being able to supply an answer to all the questions surrounding the investigation into the Boston bombing. The confusion coming out of the entire law enforcement community and their governing masters raises as much concern as the tragic event itself.

I understand those searching for answers have a tremendous amount of information to sift through and hundreds of people to interview. There is also the pressure from the press and public to come up with answers… answers that they think they have when any little tidbit of information filters its way through the bureaucratic morass that typifies our world.

I also understand that when you are tracking down the bad guys, you can’t let them know everything that is going on. Yet we live in a world where all but the low information voters have a healthy distrust of anything coming from the government and media. This situation calls for a higher degree of honesty and transparency than we are used to seeing.

There is an old rule in politics that when dealing with limited dollars, you fund the lowest priorities first, then come to the people for more money to pay for the things that are truly essential. People will rollover for unscrupulous politicians to preserve schools, fire departments and police departments. They won’t be too concerned about funding hair brained academic research about the reproductive practices of extinct mammals… especially if the money is going overseas.

Using this principle, the Obama regime has no problem sending boat loads of borrowed money to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt while they are hawking the disastrous impacts of sequestration and the Republican reluctance to facilitate the continued economic rape of the American taxpayers. The fact that the sequestration amounts to a miniscule reduction in the increase in spending gives lie to the Armageddon-like tales coming from the White House and it’s minions.

Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has been spreading really scary tales of extended waits as we see cutbacks in the number of TSA molesters that make sure no three year olds get on our planes with assault teddy bears. Unfortunately for the administration, reporters could find no evidence that her dire predictions were even close to materializing. Lines were no longer than usual, neither were wait times. One of the unexpected consequences may just be that the peasants may just realize we don’t need all the “protection” we are paying through the nose for.

Watching, from a distance, the chaos Christopher Dorner’s murderous rampage recently created in the Los Angeles area, one has to realize just how fragile our society is. This is not an examination of the justification of the LA police department in firing him several years back, or of the folk hero status he has achieved among some of the weaker minds around the City of Angels. It is a look at the damage to society one crazed, or as some want to say, motivated, person can make, even in our surveillance happy world.

We’ve seen police shooting wildly into vehicles that looked kind of like the one Dorner was driving. It is good for the occupants that, despite their training, they lacked Chris Kyle’s cool and effective marksmanship as, up to this point, everyone of the targets survived their attacks… one completely unhurt. These officers ignored one of the primary rules of firearm safety that are taught at the very basic levels of instruction – know what you are shooting at. That is, understanding what that chunk of lead flying at almost a quarter mile per second can do to a human body… and then being certain that the target is what you really want to destroy.

It seems like panic struck and the officers just emptied their magazines in the general direction of the vehicles. I have not seen any reports of how many shots went wide of their mark and potentially endangered innocent bystanders like happened recently in a New York City police shootout. Then, they went off and burned down a cabin where Dorner “might have been”.

The local FOX affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah, has reported that the Utah Sheriff’s Association has written a strongly worded letter to President Barack Obama regarding any potential federal laws that would restrict the citizens of the State of Utah from practicing their Second Amendment rights. The letter was signed by every sheriff in the State of Utah except one. The letter reads in part:

“With the number of mass shootings America has endured, it is easy to demonize firearms; it is also foolish and prejudiced. Firearms are nothing more than instruments, valuable and potentially dangerous, but instruments nonetheless. Malevolent souls, like the criminals who commit mass murders, will always exploit valuable instruments in the pursuit of evil. As professional peace officers, if we understand nothing else, we understand this: lawful violence must sometimes be employed to deter and stop criminal violence. Consequently, the citizenry must continue its ability to keep and bear arms, including arms that adequately protect them from all types of illegality.”

The letter also states: “We respect the Office of the President of the United States of America. But, make no mistake, as the duly-elected sheriffs of our respective counties, we will enforce the rights guaranteed to our citizens by the Constitution. No federal official will be permitted to descend upon our constituents and take from them what the Bill of Rights–in particular Amendment II–has given them. We, like you, swore a solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and we are prepared to trade our lives for the preservation of its traditional interpretation.”

The so-called conservative talking head at MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, railed that the Connecticut shootings “must change everything.” Scarborough’s inference is that America needs stricter gun control laws. He said, “They [politicians] must . . . be forced to defend our children,” by enacting more gun control laws. Scarborough went on to rant, “I say good luck to the gun lobbyists, good luck to the Hollywood lawyer who tries to hide behind twisted readings of our Bill of Rights.”

This is the same Joe Scarborough who was elected to Congress in 1994 from the First Congressional District of Florida. He ran as a staunch pro-Second Amendment conservative. He was elected to Congress by staunch Pro-Second Amendment conservatives. Now, Scarborough is joining the chorus of the anti-gun left by adding his voice for more gun control.

At one time, Joe and I were fairly close. I hosted a prominent radio talk show in Joe’s district at the time and did everything I could do to help him win that US House seat. At one time, Joe, and several members of his family, verbalized to me that had it not been for my support, he would not have won his congressional seat. At the time, I was proud to do it.

Joe was a different guy then. That was before he suddenly resigned his seat in Congress, before he landed a gig at MSNBC, and before he became a multimillionaire. Since then, I’ve watched Joe Scarborough morph into something different altogether. I no longer know Joe Scarborough.

It’s hard to comprehend the evil that took place in Newtown, CT. The tragedy is a nightmare that no parent and no community should have to live through. It is also difficult to comprehend that a young man held so much hatred for the woman who gave him birth that he would not only take her life but the lives of so many young children who have harmed no one and school personnel as well.

It is at times such as this that people who have little concept of a living God begin to criticize Him, wondering how a loving Creator could permit such a thing to happen. Questions such as this indicate a complete misunderstanding of the nature of good and evil. It is also asked by those who ignore their Creator throughout their lives, but need an explanation for the evil they cannot comprehend. This is also why many wish to blame the weapon rather than the man who pulled the trigger on that weapon. Blaming the shooter opens up a whole can of worms that shows the depths to which humanity can sink… themselves included.

Many people blame the Creator rather than the actual perpetrator because they cannot believe such evil would be in the heart of man, whom they believe to be basically good. The fact is that the Bible tells us that none of us is good – which is why we all needed the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross.

In an amazing display of party loyalty and against the advice of her husband, Hillary Clinton took one for the President when she accepted full blame for the Libyan disaster. She spoke up and said it was her fault an American ambassador and three others died at the hands of Islamic attackers. However, even as she spoke, more and more information was making its way into the public hands that her confession was absolutely false. While one could argue that false information is the currency of this administration, there appears to be more to this situation than the reflexive lies and coverup.

Loyalty is usually considered an admirable quality, particularly when it is loyalty to someone or something of great virtue or value. In this case, the Secretary of State is giving cover to a man who, we are told, was likely to have actually been watching real time video when those who were in a position to at least try to save the Americans were told to stand down. These orders show an awareness of the situation and a goal that is removed from the safety of these dedicated people in foreign service.

Not only were the requests for additional protection denied when the danger was more theoretical, but when the attack actually became reality, help was, once again, denied. Some have theorized that the ambassador was part of another secret arms deal that went badly. Others, aware of the unwillingness of the administration to intervene when the shooting began, suggest that the plan was to kidnap Ambassador Stevens so he could be used in an exchange for the blind sheik and give Barack Obama cover when he capitulated to the Muslim Brotherhood’s demands for the sheiks release.

This weekend I had the opportunity to view the film, Last Ounce Of Courage. You’ve probably seen the advertisements on television and are aware that it is concerned with one of the worst things that can happen to a family – two men in uniform standing on your doorstep with the news that a child and husband has died for his country. As a parent, I can’t even imagine what that must do to those who receive such a visit.

In the story the grieving father goes numb and, like the rest of us, quietly accepts our deterioration of our country, our rights and our prosperity. Through a series of events he comes to realize that by sitting on the sidelines is dishonoring those who have lost their lives fighting for our freedoms – particularly his son. Allowing this loss of freedom is nothing more than a complete disrespect for those who have given us this great country and its traditions.

To be sure, taking the stand, had a price, much as winning our freedom from the British had a price. However, compliance with those who would destroy us also has a price. This is something we seem to forget as we cocoon and wait for the delivery guy to bring our Monday Night Football pizza.

[Editors note: so many people want to get their face time as the public turns its attention to the tenth anniversary of the September 11th tragedy. Congressman Forbes is not one of them. He is the real deal, one of he good guys in congress who voted against every single bailout and stood up for America at every opportunity. This is an article he wrote one year ago on the tenth anniversary of the 911 tragedy.]

It is ten years later. Most of us remember where we were. We remember who we were with. We remember the phone calls we made, desperate to hear the sounds of our loved ones’ voices, to know they were OK. We remember the images of the twin towers crashing to the ground, the thick, gray ash that covered the New York City streets, the papers that littered the sidewalks, and the panic that followed. We remember the eery, weighty silence that swept the country in the days that followed. The images are burned into our minds.

Over the course of ten years since September 11, 2001, our nation has collectively gone through stages of grief: shock and denial that such a horrific act could have occurred. Anger at those who sought to take the lives of thousands of innocent people. Deep sadness over the senseless loss of lives and reflection as we try desperately to understand.

The final stage of grief is acceptance. While we have come to accept that this tragedy happened, we are resolved to never forget. As we enter a second decade of a post-9/11 nation, we face the reality that those Americans entering college this year were only eight years old when the attacks happened; old enough to know that something terrible had occurred, but probably too young to fully understand the gravity of the situation. Our nation’s high school freshmen very likely do not have any first-hand memories of that day.

Reports are that all sorts of people are headed to Tampa to make their voices heard at the Republican National Convention. Occupiers and anarchists (perhaps I’m being redundant) are looking to do their best to gum up the works by clogging up the bridges – and there are bridges and causeways for those on the other side of Tampa Bay – blockading intersections and throwing acid filled eggs… and probably destroying other property along the way. They hate our society and want to tear it down.

Then there are the Ron Paul folks who just want to be heard. They feel their message has been stifled and ignored by the party regulars and they, at least, want the satisfaction of being recognized. They are not destructive, in fact, many are doing their best to preserve our nation. Their basic libertarian philosophy of live and let live is one that is antithetical to the destruction of property and imposing themselves on the people around them.

What will happen when these two groups meet on the streets of of the Florida city? Will the Paulites put a damper on the raucous and riotous behavior of the occupiers, or will they get caught up with the lawlessness of the regime supported movement? They tend to be people of better character and want to see the country succeed, but, in the heat of the moment, the mob mentality and the anger at their rejection by the party leadership may get the better of them. Let’s hope not.

I must start out be saying that child molesters are about the lowest of the scum sucking bottom feeders in our society. Beyond this, Jerry Sandusky deserves just about everything that he has coming to him during his, probably short, prison stay. I say short, not because I believe he will be released in the near future, but because I doubt that things will go well for him in prison.

The whole nasty story has come to light once again, in much the same manner as pulling the scab off a wound that has begun to heal, as the NCAA is considering a “death sentence” for the Penn State football program. While groups like this always wish to enhance their public persona and appear relevant and concerned by taking action against those who cannot defend themselves effectively.

Considering that Jerry Sandusky is in prison, JoPa is dead and, probably, so is Ray Gricar… and football is a major part of the college experience for the thousands of students at the various campuses throughout the Keystone State… it would seem that they are thinking about actions that miss the point entirely.

A few days ago, I took a little trip back to the time when it was almost a cliché to have a southern sheriff run a speed trap scam to separate Americans – and possibly a few illegals – from their hard earned money as they pass through their jurisdiction. I had been warned about three little towns along Rt. 301 in central Florida, so I was prepared when I rolled on through these three little towns.

Someone had the concern for his fellow citizens to create a billboard warn unsuspecting motorists that they were approaching a speed trap a few miles up the road. It was a simple sign – black with white letters telling people to watch out for officers in the bushes. It was a simple act of rebellion rarely seen today.

The situation became even more interesting as I entered the first town of Lawtey. Instead of running a few miles per hour over the speed limit… people were actually driving below the posted limits. This was different. I saw first hand what the town fathers were trying to do to the people – locals and out of towners alike. The people were afraid of the police – afraid of getting a ticket just for driving through town.

Having recently driven through the Sanford, FL area, I got to thinking about the “stand your ground” law that has caused so much heartburn to the progressives in the Sunshine State and around the country. I cannot comprehend why anyone would not believe a person should have the right to defend themselves if they are attacked. I understand that many of these people believe a murdered rape victim is morally superior to one who would perforate the criminal with some sort of fire arm. Even if it were true, as they believe, that the state should have the ultimate authority in penalizing the bad guys, help just cannot arrive quickly enough sometimes.

The point of “stand your ground” is that the individual should not really be at the mercy of a bully or mugger. The requirement that some states have for the potential victim to retreat or run away as far as possible before legally using lethal force is really a recognition that bullies can push people around and the state will attempt to protect them from aggrieved citizens. Ironically, this idea comes from people who work day and night to let people know that bullying is not acceptable on any level.

When looked at from this angle. “stand your ground” is an idea that the citizen does not have to be backed into a corner or chased from his position without recourse. It says you can push back rather than be driven from the exchange of public discourse. It says that is someone wants to get in your face, or use force to intimidate you, you do not have to turn tail and run. You can settle the matter right here, right now.

Two recent news stories concerning people in crisis shows the relative effectiveness of two strategies people use in dealing with emergency situations. The first story made national news, quite possibly because the bleeding hearts in the formerly mainstream media believed a man from Texas went too far in saving his daughter from being molested in a horse barn.

Police and witnesses seem to be agreement with his story that he was outside the barn and heard the four year old girl screaming. He ran inside and saw an acquaintance of his attacking the girl. Doing what any father who loved his family would do, he threw the man off his child and hit him several times. Unfortunately, for the would be rapist, he hit is head on something a little more solid than his skull and he died… something he most likely did not count on.

The second illustration comes from the tragic death of Jacqueline Gardner who was attacked in the hallway outside her apartment. Her live in boyfriend heard noises out in the hall and looked through the peep hole in the door. He saw a man choking her. Doing what any red blooded metrosexual man of today would do, he stayed in the apartment and called 911. By the time he got off the phone, the assailants were gone and Gardner lay dying of a gun shot wound near the door of her home. Then the police, who generally do a fine job, but cannot be everywhere at once, came around and took crime scene photographs.

I’m sure most everyone has seen bumper stickers that simply say Coexist with the word spelled out using symbols of various religions. It is a pleasant sentiment embraced by people who have no concept of evil in the world… almost invariably the sticker is displayed by liberals who believe that people are basically good and only do bad things because we have not provided the proper conditions for them.

The problem is that it difficult to coexist with people that want to kill you. They want you to die and you want to continue to live. This can be a source of conflict. It is also true that you have a hard time living with people that want to take what you possess. Unless you are willing to give away everything and impoverish yourself, this too can be a source of conflict.

This thinking is most often found in the minds of internationalists who try to understand why people are trying to kill us. The guilt ridden liberals assume that it is something we have done to bring about this hostility. Of course our country has done plenty to annoy petty dictators around the world and even some of our friends. Unfortunately, lately we’ve begun making nice with these dictators and purposely giving our friends the short end of the negotiating stick. The people with the coexistence mindset somehow cannot comprehend that there could basic differences that would cause people to destroy their own lives and the lives of thousands of others by flying planes into buildings strapping bombs to themselves and mingling in crowds.

America prides itself in being called “the land of the free.” But, what, exactly, does it mean to be free? Does it mean owning a car and having a job? People in communist countries own a car and have a job. Does it mean going to a mall to shop. People in communist countries go to a mall to shop. Does it mean going to an amusement park to recreate? People in communist countries go to amusement parks. Does it mean going to the polls and voting? People in communist countries go to the polls and vote. In reality, many, if not most, of the things that most Americans would identify as marks of freedom are commonly practiced in the most oppressed communist countries of the world. So, what does it mean to be free?

Obviously, the freedom of speech is a crucial element of freedom, so much so that it is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. And the truth is, freedom of speech is not at all what it used to be in this country. If you doubt that, just ask the hundreds and thousands of journalists, news anchors, sportscasters, business executives, religious leaders, non-profit organization heads, teachers, scientists, government employees, etc., who have lost their positions for saying something politically incorrect. If you could, ask the late Howard Cosell or the late Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder. Ask Judge Andrew Napolitano, Glenn Beck, or Lou Dobbs. There are literally millions of people across America who daily “bite their tongues” and refuse to speak for fear of demotion, dismissal, retaliation, persecution, or worse! You call that freedom of speech? Gag!

Another critical element of freedom enshrined in the First Amendment is the right to worship freely. But, this, too, is not what it used to be. Can anyone remember when pastors and church leaders were free to say what they wanted in regard to issues that tread into government? If you do, you are probably over 50 years old or attend a non-501c3 church. On the whole, pastors and church leaders today are literally “scared silly” to broach any topic that might have political overtones, which means a sizeable percentage of the Bible is either ignored or spiritualized away by the vast majority of America’s pulpits. You call this freedom of worship? Barf!

“Evangelical Christianity lost one of its most eloquent and influential voices today with the death of Charles W. ‘Chuck’ Colson.” So reads the opening paragraph on the Prison Fellowship web site as much of the formerly main stream media only reminds us that he was a part of the Watergate conspiracy that brought down President Nixon. As with many of us who have been around a while, there are many aspects to our lives and both views of the man are true.

The last is not the complete story and the other came about because of it. He was a young and hungry hatchet man for the Nixon administration. Perhaps a stereotypical lawyer that no one really liked, but he got the job done. When a political executioner was needed, he performed the task with relish. His dedication to the success of the Nixon administration is what brought him to power and gave purpose to his life. Ultimately it led to his downfall – disbarment and imprisonment.

From frequent meetings in the oval office and sharply dressed adviser to the President, he fell prison garb and just one more number in the system. In his book, The Good Life, this once powerful and feared man wrote, “the most shattering thing about prison was the thought that I would never do anything significant with my life.” Even the harsh humiliation of prison did not quench his desire to accomplish something great. Like Victor Frankl who wrote about survival in a Nazi concentration camp, Colson looked for meaning… and he found it.

Jackson, MS – The State of Mississippi advanced the health of women and the lives of the unborn this week, when Governor Phil Bryant signed into law regulations requiring clinic abortionists to be an obstetrician-gynecologist with admitting privileges at a local hospital.

“Governor Bryant and the Mississippi Legislature are champions for the cause of women’s health and the sanctity of life,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The lives of women will be saved because they stood courageously against Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion activists who operate under the pretext of women’s health but stand against this and other provisions that would advance women’s health.”

“No one leaves an abortion clinic uninjured – not the mother and certainly not the unborn child,” said Mat Staver. “This commonsense law would require that if those injuries require immediate hospital care, the mother can be treated immediately by her doctor in a nearby hospital.”

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Much to the chagrin of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a federal judge has cleared the members of a Michigan militia who were accused by federal law enforcement agents of conspiracy to commit sedition. Since you didn’t hear much about this ruling from the national press corps, here is one online version of the report:

“Seven members of a Michigan militia have been cleared of plotting to overthrow the U.S. government as a judge dismissed the most serious charges against them.

“In a shock defeat for federal authorities, District Judge Victoria Roberts said the group’s expressed hatred of law enforcement did not amount to a conspiracy.

“The FBI secretly planted an informant and an agent inside the Hutaree militia in 2008 to collect hours of anti-government audio and video that became the cornerstone of the case.

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